1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to computer network security, and relates more specifically to a system and method for providing physical web security using IP addresses.
2. Related Art
Presently, there exist numerous challenges for providing security over the web. One such challenge involves ensuring the identity of a user that is accessing a server. Login and password systems are well known to provide a basic level of security to limit access to a server. In such systems, login and password information is utilized at the beginning of a session to authenticate a user. For subsequent messages sent by the user, login information can be sent to the server in a cookie along with the message, thereby authenticating the user for the entire session.
However, because of the nature of the Internet, is it possible to intercept packets coming across the web and to see exactly what someone has sent from their client device. Accordingly, security information can be intercepted by a third party, which could be used to modify or create a new message that could be passed to the server during the session. The server would thus be fooled into believing that the third party is actually the original user.
One way to address this problem would be to verify that the physical device used at the creation of a session remains the same throughout the session. In this manner, a third party residing at different physical location could be easily distinguished from the original user. Currently, there exist various “encrypted certificate” services on the web that provide processes, such as placing certified cookies on the Internet clients to verify the sending machines. Unfortunately, such processes are costly, can be broken since they depend on logical security only, and create browser setup and usage issues that cause unwanted complexities for users.
Accordingly, a need exists for a security system in which servers can verify the physical address of a client device on the Internet.